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The Nocturnal Brain

Tales of Nightmares and Neuroscience

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The Nocturnal Brain

By: Dr Guy Leschziner
Narrated by: Dr Guy Leschziner
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About this listen

*As featured on Steven Bartlett’s Diary of a CEO podcast*

For those fascinated by neurology and for fans of The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat comes a powerful exploration of the mind during night time. Here are the mysteries of sleep, explained – from known conditions to the extreme.

‘The Secret World of Sleep interweaves bizarre real life stories with cutting edge neurological science in the true tradition of Oliver Sacks. A fascinating read.' Martha Kearney, BBC Radio 4

World-renowned neurologist and sleep expert, Doctor Guy Leschziner, takes you through various sleep conditions and how they arise and affect people. Insomnia, narcolepsy, night terrors and apnoea are just some of the conditions afflicting those struggling with sleep.

Then there are the extreme cases. The people frightened into paralysis by hallucinations. The woman in a state of deep sleep who gets dressed and goes for a drive. The teenager with ‘Sleeping Beauty Syndrome’, stuck in a cycle of excessive unconsciousness. The man who cleans out kitchens while 'sleep-eating'.

With compassionate stories of his patients and their conditions, Leschziner illustrates the neuroscience behind our sleeping minds, revealing the many biological and psychological factors necessary in getting the rest needed for health and happiness.

Pick of the Best Paperbacks - Sunday Times
Best January Paperbacks - The Times
Must Read Brain Books 2019 - Forbes Magazine
The Best Neuroscience Books of 2019 - The Scientist Magazine
The Best Books of 2019 - New Zealand Herald
Best 100 Summer Reads 2019 - Sunday Times
Week's best Science Picks - Nature
Books of the Year 2019 - Irish Independent

©2019 Dr Guy Leschziner (P)2019 Simon & Schuster UK Physical Illness & Disease Sleep Disorders Mental Health Thought-Provoking Health

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Critic reviews

"Casebooks of neurological disorders are often strange and wonderful, but this one is special." (Sunday Times)

"The Nocturnal Brain will not promise to cure your insomnia, but it does make for an entertaining and thought-provoking bedtime read." (The Guardian)
All stars
Most relevant  
A truly fascinating read.
Originally I bought this book on a whim, thinking it would probably be way above me, but not so thanks to Dr Guy Leschziner ability’s to impart knowledge.
Dr Guy Leschziner explains fully everything in such a way that can be understood so long as you have some basic understanding of human biology and an insatiable appetite for the unusual, I’m sure that anything else your not too familiar with can be cross referenced fairly easily.
I would strongly recommend this book to anyone either coping themselves with an unusual sleep pattern or indeed anyone coping with someone else’s unusual sleep pattern !
Brilliant, very definitely worth 5 stars.
Thank you Dr Leschziner, this subject is clearly a passion rather than just a specialty to you and I hope you continue to investigate further and to pass on your knowledge regularly.

Fascinating !

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absolutely loved this book .. could not stop listening .. binge listened over two sittings

brilliant

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loved it. loved the narration. the subject is so complex . answered many questions. opened up many more

fascinating!!!

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I never realised just how intricate sleep was, nor how many disorders there were.
I highly recommend this book to everyone, whether you have a sleep disorder or not.

Fascinating.

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The narration is as good as the research and writing itself, which I don’t think is necessarily expected from the authors but in this case I think it’s a gift!
I’m fascinated by both sleep and the brain and I think this book satisfied my intellectual cravings just right. But on a more important note, this is the first time I’ve ever come across my particular type of epilepsy in a book. Epilepsy is a common condition but my type is relatively rare, so this feels huge. I have thanked the author personally but I thought I should mention it here too. Can’t recommend this book enough!!

A totally worthwhile listen

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An enjoyable read for medical professionals and lay people. Has caused me to reflect on a few patients from my primary care practice.

A concise and curious tour of sleep medicine

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A good contribution to our understanding of sleep at this time. The author reads well and the writing breaths life, tension and humour into a subject that could be lost in technicalities. An excellent read.

Highly Informative

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The book is fascinating and I really enjoyed it. Guy, a great job. Well done.
Bahram

A great book.

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I found this audiobook very interesting, and hearing the potential links between seemingly trivial daily activities and sleep has completely changed the way I think about sleep. Not to mention the potential links with other disorders, such as Parkinson's, that hit much closer to home.

Didn't put me to sleep

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Loved the narrators voice - always a plus, great content . Thought it was going to be a bit mundane but really interesting mix of medical case notes and story telling. Went way beyond stop drinking coffee and Diet Coke.

Fantastic book not at all what I expected

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